The is the last week of classes, and because of the Monday holiday, this is an A week. Breakfast with the 8th grade was very nice, and we look forward to having them in the Upper School with us next year! The Final Exam Schedule for this year is available for download in the column to the right.

American Literature: Day One of Poetry Island Survivor was a little rocky, but now that everyone “gets” it, I suspect that Days Two and Three will go well! On Wednesday, Day Two of Poetry Island Survivor,you will be using art to add a visual dimension to your presentation. Remember, this can be include any of the following: painting, drawing, sculpture, collage, photography, or any other method you can think of to visually interest the audience in the poem. On Friday, Day Three of Poetry Island Survivor, you are using dramatics as a presentation aid to your poem. You may act out your poem, make a play with stick r sock puppets, or use any other way you can think of to help us experience your poem. Yes, you may get volunteers to help you! Next week is your final poetry presentation due in lieu of a final exam [see pages 8 and 9 of the syllabus]. These will be presented on Monday, June 4th during our exam block [9:00 – 11:30]. There will not be an opportunity to make this up if you are not ready when it is due, so be prepared!

Poetry and Nonfiction: We will finish watching Tuesdays with Morrie. You need to make certain that you have your poetry notebooks up to date as these will be collected for a grade on Friday, June 1st!Your final presentations on a nonfiction work of your choice are scheduled for our exam block, Tuesday, June 5th [12:30 – 3:00]. You may volunteer to present on Friday of this week, if we have time.There will not be an opportunity to make this up if you are not ready when it is due, so be prepared! The instructions/guidelines for this assignment are in the handout available on the class page if you need to review these.

Publications and Media: This is IT—we MUST have those yearbooks done THIS THURSDAY so that we can burn the DVDs for everyone and put the packages together for distribution to the community next Thursday at the End-of-the-Year Picnic! We will use our exam block, Wednesday, June 6th [12:30 – 3:00] to package everything up.

Shakespeare’s Tragedies: What a wonderful time we had at the American Shakespeare Company's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream last week—I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did! We will finish watching Hamlet this week. , and if we have any extra time, we will watch Henry V. This is another Kenneth Branaugh production, and it is very well done. Reminder: your final projects MUST be presented on Monday, June 4th during our exam block [12:30 – 3:00] or earlier! There will not be an opportunity to make this up if you are not ready when it is due, so be prepared! The instructions/guidelines for this assignment are in the handout available on the class page if you need to review these.

The Word: OK, we are finally ready to view the films you have been waiting for—The Matrix trilogy! As we watch, look for the numerous Biblical references; try to note the ones you recognize for each film! You will need to turn in TEN Biblical references from the films at the end of our exam block on Thursday, June 7th [12:30 – 3:00]!

World Literature: This week we will finish up the unit on “Discerning the Thoughts of the Other” by watching The Kite Runner.Don’t forget that your final projects are due on Wednesday, June 6th during our exam block [9:00 – 11:30]. You may be able to volunteer to present yours on Thursday, May 31st if we finish the film early enough. There will not be an opportunity to make this up if you are not ready when it is due, so be prepared!

I hope you enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend! We only have two weeks to go, so stay focused!

This is an A week, and we will do our last monthly breakfast THIS Friday—a week early as there will be an assembly on the first Friday in June, June 1st. This an all-Upper School breakfast with the 8th grade invited.

American Literature: We are a little behind, so we will be watching A Streetcar Named Desire on Monday and Wednesday and then moving to Day One of Poetry Island Survivor, as planned, on Friday, the 25th—mood music. Remember, you will be presenting a selection of your poet’s poetry with background music that sets the tone for the work you are reading, so be prepared! Long-range reminder: keep on top of the final poetry presentations due in lieu of a final exam [see pages 8 and 9 of the syllabus].

Poetry and Nonfiction: We will be watching the Ted Koppel interviews with Morrie Schwartz before watching a film version of Tuesdays with Morrie. You need to make certain that you have your poetry notebooks up to date as these will be collected for a grade on Friday, June 1st!Don’t forget: this is an A week, so you will need to bring in 15 copies of your three poems to share with the class on Friday!

Shakespeare’s Tragedies: We should finish reading Hamlet by Wednesday, and if so, we will start watching the film on Friday. Don’t forget that we are headed to The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton on Thursday to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream!We need to leave by 6:00 AM as this is AT LEAST a four-hour drive, and the play starts at 10:30. The tickets for the play are paid for, but you will need to bring money for lunch at The Baja Bean http://www.bajabean.com/ and any drinks or snacks you want when we stop for gas. Reminder: your final projects MUST be presented on Monday, June 4th or earlier!

The Word: We will finish watching The Song of Bernadette and then move from 19th century France to the future as we begin watching The Matrix trilogy. You will be amazed at the Biblical references in these three films!

World Literature: We will be reading Chapter 4, “Evening Faces” from The Tale of Genji this week. Don’t forget that your final projects are due on Wednesday, June 6th, or earlier! There will not be an opportunity to make this up if you are not ready when it is due, so be prepared!

We are down to the last three weeks of school, so stay focused and on track. There are projects and other assignments for so many classes that it is easy to forget one--make sure you know what is due when, complete it on time, and TURN IT IN/PRESENT IT ON TIME!!!!